Through Fire and Smoke
by Camie Raye
Summary: When Pluto sends Raye to Gunsmoke in search of 'the Stampede' Raye finds herself lost in a swirl of fire and smoke. Please R&R. Camie
1. The Black Abyss

I know, I know, I have other stories, but I thought it would be fun to write one of these.  
  
This is my first crossover. It's a Trigun-Sailor Moon story. If you don't like a Raye centered story I would recommend that you don't read the story, because it is. No offense to Serena, but I get tired of finding stories just about her. There is no Serena bashing in this story. I won't tell you any pairs since well, it will be revealed eventually and if you can't figure it out on your own, I'm really sorry. Well that's enough of my babbling so I will let you read the story.  
  
I do not own Trigun or Sailor Moon  
  
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"What the......... where am I and how did I get here? Serena, are you there," the girl called to her friend, whom she had just been speaking to seconds before, in the black abyss that she now found herself in.  
  
"How do I get out of here? Pluto, this has to be your doings! Are you here?" She turned in every direction to see if she could find Pluto, but all she could see was black. Even her own hand seemed nonexistent in the dark.  
  
"Raye," she barely heard her name whispered by the familiar voice. Turning sharply in the direction of the voice she sees a soft green glow forming in the dark. "I knew you had to have something to do with this! Why am I here, please tell me?"  
  
"It is your destiny to go Raye. You will be going somewhere else for awhile. You have to find someone who plays an important role in the survival of our planet. You are to bring him back to Earth when you return. You can take as much time as needed but no more than that. You can only come back when you find 'the stampede.'"  
  
Raye gave Pluto a dumbfounded look, "'the stampede', what kind of clue is that? How can I find someone if I don't know their real name? Please tell me, I want to go home, not somewhere else," Raye pleaded with Pluto.  
  
All I can tell you is that it will be very hot and dangerous where you are going. Be careful, Raye, the Earth is counting on you. I will see you when you complete your mission.  
  
Pluto's green aura starts to fade, "No, Pluto, please tell me. Ugh, Trista, why do you have to be so vague," Raye yelled as Pluto disappeared.  
  
Raye sat down on the black floor. "How long am I going to be here?" Laying back, her dark hair fanned out and she closed her violet eyes.  
  
Many hours passed before Raye awoke. As her mind became more conscious to her surroundings she noticed a bright light glaring down on her eyelids.  
  
Opening her eyes slightly she had to close them quickly. "Why is it so bright? This can't be Earth."  
  
Pluto's voice came back to her, 'You will be going somewhere else for awhile.'  
  
"Where did you put me Trista?" She opened one eye and saw two blazing suns high in the sky. Opening the other slowly, her eyes were soon getting used to the light. Her sharp ears detect footsteps and she sits up on the sand.  
  
"Young lady, are you ok?" His voice sounded old, but wise. Raye looked over at him; he was walking slowly towards her. His hair was almost nonexistent; the few white strands that were left stuck up on his head. He was wearing dark green pants with black suspenders and a white shirt.  
  
"Ummm......... I think so. I don't mean to be rude, but where am I," Raye asked the man as he stopped next to her.  
  
"You're in May City."  
  
Raye looked at him, "And where, may I ask, is that?"  
  
The old man gave Raye a dumbfounded look, "it's exactly where it is."  
  
"What planet am I on," she tried to explain a little more what she meant.  
  
"Where have you been young lady, did you hit your head? We are on Gunsmoke."  
  
"Gunsmoke?" ** I guess this is the somewhere else Pluto was talking about.** "Is someone by the name of 'the stampede' from here?"  
  
The man's face went chalk white, "do not repeat that name."  
  
"Why, is he that bad?" **Great, she sent me here for a real felon."  
  
"They say that just saying his name will cause the town to be destroyed. But it has also been said that he was once here, many years ago."  
  
Raye thought about it, "Well, can you tell me what he looks like?"  
  
"They say he wears a long red coat and that his face is so evil that anyone who looks upon him shall die on the spot. There is a bounty on his head for $$60 billion."  
  
**Damn it Pluto, where have you put me? Do you want me killed or something? This guy is wanted for tons of money and she sends me here to find him.**  
  
"Man, it sure is getting hot," Raye mumbles under her breath. Looking down to see what she was wearing, she notices that she is wearing her Shinto garb.  
  
"Well, of course it is. You need to put on some cooler clothes, you will have a heat stroke wearing that," with that the old man turned and walked off in the direction of a building. Finally, getting a better look around her she finds that she is sitting in the middle of a town. "Where am I, a western movie?" Right in the middle of the town was a Saloon, with the traditional western style doors that wing open.  
  
"Gunsmoke, ahhhh, I get it now. It's like that old western show that Grandpa used to watch all the time."  
  
Her eyes scanned the town, in search of a clothing store to get out of her Shinto robes and into something a little cooler. "Oh no," Raye moaned, "What kind of money do they use here. Double dollars, I wonder what that means. Thanks for dropping me off here unprepared for anything, Trista!"  
  
Gunshots jerk Raye from her thoughts on how to get new clothes. A tall blonde man in a long blood red trench coat runs out of the Saloon screaming. Over his eyes are a pair of yellow sunglasses with 'W' shapes on the ear pieces.  
  
"Get out of here, Vash; you've had too much to drink already!"  
  
"Oh, come on, grandma, I've drank not enough," the man's voice was slurred and he kind of staggered a few inches before he fell right in front of Raye. Vash looked up at her and his vision was so blurred all he saw was her outline and the bright light of the sun, "an angel," and with a hiccup he passed out right in the middle of the town.  
  
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Tell me what you think, and I really don't want to do this, but I need lots of reviews, so I won't write the next chapter until I have at least 5 reviews.  
  
Thanks, Hachigatsu 


	2. And When You Think It Can't Get Worse, I...

"Great, this is a nice added effect. I'm glad you care Pluto!" Raye looks down at the man who is now snoring peacefully. **Red trench coat, is this the man he was talking about? He doesn't look evil.**  
  
Raye removes his sunglasses to get a better look at his face. "This can't be 'the stampede,' but maybe he can help me find the one I am looking for."  
  
Raye pulls Vash off the ground and drapes his arm across her shoulders and drags him down the middle of the street. Looking at every building she finally sees an inn of sorts. She pulls him up the stairs and into the building. At the front desk is a kind looking old woman, "do you have any vacant rooms," Raye asks as she drops Vash into one of the chairs.  
  
"Why, yes ma'am I do, actually most rooms have been vacated, because of a recent rumor that 'Vash the-stampede' is around," she whispered, seemingly also afraid that it would cause destruction.  
  
**Vash the-stampede, no way, maybe it's just a coincidence, he doesn't look like a cold blooded killer.** Raye looks at Vash and prays that it's not him that everyone is so worried about.  
  
**I just got here, the last thing I want to happen is have the city I find first destroyed by a man who looks as if he couldn't hurt a fly.**  
  
"We'll take two of your rooms then." **I hope he doesn't kill me in the morning when he finds out he's paying for the rooms.**  
  
"Alright, here are your keys, room 7 and 8." The woman handed Raye the keys and Raye walked back over to Vash and carried him up the stairs to the rooms. Putting Vash into the bed in room 8, Raye walked back to room 7 and laid down on the bed. **Man, this is the only good part about this little 'trip' so far. At least in this room if he chases me I'm closer to the door.**  
  
Raye falls asleep and dreams of her friends and family in Tokyo.  
  
"WHAT THE!? WHERE AM I?!" The sound of a loud crash following the outburst woke Raye from her dreams.  
  
"Great, I guess he woke up," she gets out of the bed and walks out the door and over to the room where she left Vash last night. Opening the door she finds him sprawled out of the floor wrapped in the covers from the bed. "You're in a hotel so be quiet, there's no need to yell," she walks over to him and helps him get out of the covers.  
  
"Who are you, the maid of the hotel or something? Or how 'bout room service, can I get some donuts," Vash asks as he tries to help himself up.  
  
"Neither, you kind of fell at my feet yesterday, so I thought that I would help you and bring you here. And I know I just met you and everything, but I am kind of new here and I don't have the kind of money that you use here, so I was hoping that you could pay for the rooming and everything," Raye cringed as she finished speaking preparing herself for the screams of protest.  
  
"Only as long as I can get some donuts soon, I'm starvin'. Do you know if they have any here?"  
  
"No, I told you that I am new here. I don't mean to this town either, I mean to this entire planet. I have to find someone and I was kind of hoping that you could help me," Raye was kind of surprised that he didn't go crazy on her and throw stuff.  
  
"New to this planet, what planet are you from?"  
  
Surprised Raye asks, "Do you have space travel here?"  
  
"Yes, well sort of. Or at least we did, we don't have it anymore. It was all destroyed. What planet did you come from?"  
  
"Earth," Raye said without thinking.  
  
"Earth, that's not possible. The Earth has no more resources to support man. Rem said so," Vash looks at Raye as if she is lying to him.  
  
"No its not, whose Rem? It has to be a different Earth then, because I was just there and it seemed very abundant to me."  
  
But Vash was off in his own little world, every once in a while he would mutter a few words like 'Rem said' and 'there's no way'.  
  
"Well, I will be back, but can I borrow some money," Raye walks up and Vash absentmindedly gives her some money.  
  
Raye walks out to leave him to his thoughts as she goes to find him some donuts.  
  
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"Where are the food stores? There has to be one here or everyone would starve."  
  
Glancing around, she sees the saloon from the day before. She decides to go in and get directions.  
  
Walking in she sees a woman in her late 60s, "Can you tell me where I can buy food, donuts perhaps?"  
  
"Well, dear, there is a store just a couple of buildings down. Tell Vash I said hey," the woman says as she turns to get a man a refill.  
  
"How do you know I will see him," Raye looks surprised.  
  
"He is the only one around that normally wants donuts. They have a large stock just for him. That boy can eat over a dozen by himself," the woman gives her a warm smile.  
  
"Well, thanks," Raye walks back out and down the road until she sees a building with baked goods in the windows.  
  
As she walks in the building a bell chimes. A young man peeks over the glass case containing the donuts.  
  
"What can I do for you today, miss?"  
  
"I would like to buy some donuts. Do you have glazed and chocolate covered?"  
  
"Yes ma'am we do."  
  
"Ok then I would like half a dozen glazed and half a dozen chocolate."  
  
"Ok, that's 12 double dollars."  
  
Raye hands him a wad of bills and hopes that she has twelve of whatever it was that he wanted.  
  
The man looked at her kind of strange but kept his mouth shut as he handed her a few bills.  
  
*** I guess I should have asked him about the money before I left to buy something. He better not be picky about the kinds of donuts he likes. ***  
  
As the young man starts to put the donuts in the bag Raye glances around at all the other foods in the store. *** It looks just like any bakery at home. I figured by the looks of the desert and the saloon that this would be some kind of bad western. ***  
  
"Here you go miss, have a nice day."  
  
Raye grabs the bag and walks back out and towards the inn. She walks back in and is greeted by the woman that she saw last night. With a small 'hello' she makes her way back to Vash's room.  
  
"Here, I got you some donuts," she says as she knocks on his door. The door is immediately flung open and the bag is no longer in her hands. Looking at Vash, she sees that he has two donuts stuffed in his mouth. His cheeks are sticking out, not unlike a hamster that she had once.  
  
"Are you not even going to ask me if I would like one?"  
  
"O, I sowwy, wud ew ike on," he asked with his mouth full.  
  
"Not now, you have made me loose my appetite," she gave a disgusted look.  
  
Swallowing, he looked back at her, "are you sure you came from Earth?"  
  
"Yes, why would I lie about something like that?"  
  
"Its not that I think you're lying, its just that a friend of mine was from Earth and she told me all about how it used to be. But that it now lay in ruin because all the resources were gone." Vash then filled Raye in about his time with Rem Saverem and the crew of Project SEEDS.  
  
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Wow, six reviews for one chapter! That's the most I have ever gotten! Thank you for all the reviews, you know who u are. I need five more before I update again!  
  
Thanks,  
  
Hachigatsu 


	3. Going Home

Sorry about the wait, I know I got the five reviews I was hoping for but I just didn't have the time to update. I just got over a little bit of writers block. I hope it will work on my other stories as well. So Enjoy!

I do not own Trigun or Sailor Moon, but the story line does belong to me.

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When Vash finished his story his usual energy seemed to have fallen. He looked as if he had just relived the moment that Rem had died. Raye hadn't noticed until then that he looked as if he had relived it several times. She decided that she could trust Vash and thought about how to ask him about 'the stampede.' Hoping he could help her because she desperately wanted to get home. 

"Vash, I have a question," he looked at her as she turned her head away, "I was sent here to find someone and bring him back."

"I could probably help you, I know this place pretty well. Who are you looking for?"

She was afraid to say anything; she remembered what the old man had said. "The woman who sent me here said to find 'the stampede.'

Vash looked at her, he was unsure what to say. "I don't guess we have to look very far."

Looking back towards Vash, Raye gives him a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

"I believe you are looking for me. I have been called 'Vash the Stampede' for a while because of events that I did not cause. Though some people would beg to differ, but they only see what they want."

Raye's jaw dropped, this was the easiest job she had ever had. The only problem was talking him into going with her, and how to get home.

"I…I…need you to go with me. Will you go with me to Earth? Apparently our fate depends on you being there. Please come with me." Raye's eyes were pleading, almost puppy dog style. She hoped that it would shatter Vash's thoughts of saying no. She knew that he feared Earth for some reason, but she would find a way to get him to think differently about it.

"Are you sure it's real? It's not dying like Rem told me?"

"Not that I know of, according to what I have heard and seen in the future it is going to last a long time. Maybe my Earth is different than the one Rem told you about." She hoped he would go with her, she felt like she had been away for ages when in all honesty it had only been about a day.

"I don't know, let me think about it for a little while. I will let you know in the morning."

Raye looked out the window; they had been talking for a long time. It was growing dark outside. She stood up and headed towards the door, she turned to look at Vash, his head was down and he seemed deep in thought. She stepped out into the hallway and went to her room.

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Vash woke up to a familiar sound, music that he hadn't heard in a long time. He followed the sound to the hallway and stopped at Raye's door. It was coming from inside, a beautiful voice drifted through the slightly open door. 

So... On the first night,

a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere.

So... On the second night,

The pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz.

Sound life

So... On the third night,

The children of the waltz cause ripples on the face of the world

So... On the fourth night,

the children of the wave spray the shore.

Vash could see Raye sitting at the window, her mouth open in the shape of the words that he had heard so many times. He wondered how she knew this song, and at the same time he thought that she looked a lot like Rem. Why hadn't he noticed it before, it seemed so obvious to him at that moment.

Sound life

So... On the fifth night,

those shards strike the face of the earth over and over.

So... On the sixth night,

those signals bring travelers together.

Sound life

So... On the seventh night,

a weightless ship races to the sky.

So... On the eighth morning,

a song from somewhere reaches my ears.

Sound life

Well then... A song that has recorded everything

echoes to the new sky.

Sound life

Sound life

As he made his way back to his room he made his decision.

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Raye opened her eyes to the sunlight that she had become accustomed to recently. Her mind went instantly to Vash, what had he decided? She hoped he wanted to go with her to see what Rem had told him about. Hoped that he would want to see the beautiful land of Earth, not the deserts of Gunsmoke. 

She heard a knock at her door, "Come in." Vash walked in dressed and ready to go somewhere.

"Well, aren't you ready? We have to find out how to get to your home. Get up, come on, are you always this hard to get up?"

Raye looked at him, was he saying that he was coming with her? "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you decide to come with me?"

"Yeah come on, I didn't think Rem would want me to miss this," he didn't tell her his reason for changing his mind. He was sure that one day she would find out anyways. So he might as well just wait until that day.

Raye jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wake herself up. It didn't take her long and the two of them set out to find a way back.

They had been walking across the desert for what seemed like hours when Raye decided she needed a rest. "Pluto! How do we get home," she yelled in frustration.

Vash watched her as she sat down on the sand. He went stiff when he saw a cloud of dark green form behind her. "Raye, watch out!" He pulled out his gun as Raye turned to see the cloud.

"No!" Raye yelled, but she was too late. The shot rang out, flying towards the cloud.

The cloud was forming into the Guardian of Time, as the bullet got close. It was easily stopped by the Princess of Pluto, as Raye thanked the heavens.

"Has he been that rash since you met him Raye," Pluto said as Raye was catching her breath.

"Actually no, when I first met him he passed out at my feet. Are you here to take us back, please say you are."

"Yeah, now get ready, this could be uncomfortable for some."

Raye and Vash stood there and waited for Pluto to send them to Earth. A large blast of green surrounded them and Pluto's garnet orb circled the three as they started to fade from the surface of Gunsmoke. Raye hoped that whatever the reason was for Vash going to Earth would not be occurring as soon as they got there. She also hoped that her friends where ok and that Pluto had explained to them where she was.

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I hope you liked it; I'm not entirely satisfied with it so I will probably rewrite it at some point. But please review, the next chapter might be out soon. 

Camie


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